Well this morning, the day of my interview for that long awaited full time job, it is pouring down with rain. As I sit here at the computer I watch it cascading in rivulets down the window pane, listening to its gentle patter against the walls and the roof of our house. Rain is of course, as with the water element in general, symbolic of our emotions, so it is no surprise that my emotions on the day of this very important interview, which is in many ways (remember that I have done the same job part time now for almost 20 months) a formality, are running riot.
I don't think anyone who has not been in this position can truly understand how difficult it is for those working part time who wish for more hours, sitting at home endlessly with little to do except read, watch television and eat. There are only so many games you can play, books you can read and episodes of Jeremy Kyle you can watch before you start to go stir crazy.
The answer lies in going out into the fresh air, and while it is true that walks are free, the refreshments that you inevitably want at the end of your walk are unfortunately not. When one has little money, you need to watch those pennies. I hope that after today I will not have to watch them quite so closely as I have been. One of the things that I hope to do if I am successful (and it is still an if) is to start travelling a lot more. In my younger days before I met Coran and gave up work to write Genesis of Man, I used to travel a lot - I have been all over Europe, and seen large swathes of Canada and the Far East. In recent years I have tended to concentrate on the UK - not only is it cheaper, it also saves you the hassle of airports and foreign languages and currency. After my trip to Iceland though six months ago (is that all is is) I have bitten by the bug again.
I am hoping that this year I may be able to afford two main holidays - one to Norway and one to the Isle of Man - I suspect that the Isle of Man will be the longest one. I have started to do a little research and ascertained that I can fly from Gatwick for around £80 return. I have also found a nice hostel in the south of the island that offers rooms for £14 a night and discovered that the island has an excellent network of public transport.
As for Norway, I visited the country briefly in the early 90's when I went inter railing and have wonderful memories of those times. If I manage to go again this year, I hope to do the run from Oslo to Bergen and take the mountain railway to the little village of Flam. This is an exceedingly picturesque area, and unfortunately one of Europe's most expensive places - however, as with Iceland, there are ways and means, and being the thrifty and resourceful person that I am, I will find them.
These are for the moment though dreams, gradually coming into reality. Lets hope that another dream that I have held so long now turns into fruition this afternoon, so that these others can also do the same.
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